Article Updated: November 10, 2023
Compensation for Shoulder Injury Requiring Surgery
I reviewed 32 real life shoulder injury and surgery verdicts and settlements to write this article.
Although not very common, shoulder injuries and resultant surgeries do occur from falls, such as those that happen in a nursing home. More common are shoulder surgeries resulting from vehicle collisions.
Regardless of the injury causing incident which necessitated your surgery, knowing the right compensation for a shoulder injury that required a surgery will help protect you from being tricked into a bad settlement by the defendant who caused your injury.
Thus, below I share with you my research on shoulder surgery compensation amounts (real case results). I hope this helps you achieve greater justice in your case.
Clickable Table of Contents
Shoulder Injury Medical Topics
1 – Shoulder Injuries Requiring Surgery
2 – Surgery for Shoulder Injury
Settlement Info for a Shoulder Injury Requiring Surgery
3 – Sample Compensation for Shoulder Injury Requiring Surgery
4 – How Permanency Impacts Compensation for Shoulder Injury with Surgery
5 – Average Settlement for Shoulder Surgery
6 – Shoulder Surgery Settlements Disclaimer
7 – Shoulder Surgery Settlements Q&A
Resources
8 – Maximize Your Compensation for a Shoulder Injury Requiring Surgery
9 – Supporting Literature, Citations & Research
10 – About the Author
11 – Legal Help in Maryland & Nationally
Shoulder Injuries Requiring Surgery
Shoulders carry a large amount of pressure and tension on your body.
For vehicle accidents your seatbelt can add to the injuries you sustain in an accident. For a fall, the direct impact is enough to cause the injury.
Not all shoulder injuries, however, require surgery. Only the more severe injuries require shoulder surgery.
The average settlement for a shoulder surgery gets much higher in cases where you need more intense and invasive surgeries like a shoulder replacement.
Surgery for Shoulder Injury
The average settlement for your shoulder surgery will vary depending on which surgery you need. Some of the more common shoulder surgeries are:
◊ Rotator Cuff Surgery
◊ Torn Labrum Surgery
◊ Reverse Shoulder Replacement Surgery
In the case of fracture repairs, the more serious they are, the more intensive the surgery process.
In a shoulder replacement surgery, sections of the shoulder are beyond repair and this necessitates an artificial shoulder segment. This is a major operation that requires an open cut made into the shoulder.
The procedure is a complicated one and has intense pain associated with it. Such pain, obviously, will impact your compensation for a shoulder surgery as it increases your recoverable “pain and suffering” damages.
Shoulder surgery settlements for open incision surgeries and shoulder replacements are valued much higher due to longer recovery times associated with them.
Sample Compensation for Shoulder Injury Requiring Surgery
Compensation for shoulder injury and surgery from car collision
$38,550.00 (Louisiana): A mid-20’s male driver was going west through an intersection when a vehicle going north failed to stop at their stop sign. The car slammed into the plaintiff’s vehicle and caused the plaintiff to suffer a shoulder strain and a torn shoulder ligament. There was the need for extensive physical therapy as well as arthroscopic surgery for the shoulder as well to help with the recovery process. I would not consider this a fair compensation for a shoulder injury resulting in surgery. I suspect there are additional facts we don’t know about this compensation result that impacted the recovery.
Compensation for shoulder injury and surgery from work accident
$48,145.00 (Mississippi): A self employed male contractor suffered injuries to his right shoulder which had a previous shoulder impingement. The plaintiff suffered additional damage that required another shoulder arthroscopy. The surgery period and the associated physical therapy required that the plaintiff miss considerable time from work which played into the economic losses recovered in the settlement. This below par shoulder surgery compensation could be explained by a conservative venue, but I’m not 100% sure as the compensation report I found did not have a great deal of additional facts.
Shoulder injury and surgery recovery from pickup truck accident
$275,400.00 (Kentucky): An early 40’s male suffered major injuries including lumbar and shoulder strains and a fractured left shoulder that required open incision surgery. The injuries were the result of the plaintiff being hit by a pickup truck that failed to drive safely in a parking lot where the plaintiff was walking to his car. There was an initial settlement for $25,000 which was later supplemented with the additional verdict which accounted for past and future medical expenses and pain and suffering, coming to a collective $275k+ of compensation for the plaintiff’s shoulder injury which required surgery.
Compensation for shoulder injury that required surgery from parking log collision
$176,202.00 (New York): A late 30’s female driver was pulling her car into a parking lot when she was hit from the rear by a defendant who was not following speed rules and could not stop his car in time and hit the plaintiff. The injury caused left shoulder impingement and a fractured right shoulder. There was the need for multiple surgeries to address the injuries and pain that the plaintiff suffered. Defendant denied liability and stated that the plaintiff’s own actions had caused the injuries and damages. Nonetheless, the jury disagreed and awarded full compensation for this shoulder injury with surgery case.
How Permanency Impacts Compensation for Shoulder Injury with Surgery
If you have permanent restrictions after a shoulder surgery, it means you can no longer engage in the same lifestyle that you used to partake in before the shoulder injury and surgery.
Permanent shoulder restrictions, therefore, affect your shoulder injury compensation for two major reasons:
◊ You will have the potential for lifelong pain and will also need lifelong medical treatment to address that shoulder pain
◊ Your quality of life and normal activities will be permanently affected in a negative manner
These realities translate into higher shoulder injury compensation amounts because you have more pain for a longer period of time and have to change your life in ways you would not have had to if you didn’t suffer this injury and didn’t have to undergo the related surgery.
The amount of compensation increase you obtain will vary depending on the type and extent of future needed medical interventions, and the specific life activities you can no longer perform.
Your lifestyle, job and activity level before surgery, as well as your age and any prior injuries will also have a big impact on your recovery for a shoulder surgery claim.
Average Settlement for Shoulder Surgery
Worth mentioning that I’ve personally handled this type of case and injury. I researched case values when I settled my client’s shoulder injury and surgery case, and I did more of that research in writing this article.
The sub-50k results listed above are anomalies. Based on 32 real life shoulder injury and surgery verdicts and settlements that I researched and reviewed, the average settlement for a shoulder surgery case is between $175,000 and $225,000.
Coincidentally, my client’s shoulder injury and surgery case settled for $220,000. I thought that was pretty interesting after having done this research and calculating the average shoulder surgery settlement based on the 30+ cases I found.
Shoulder Surgery Settlements Disclaimer
A necessary and important disclaimer is needed here.
Just because the average shoulder surgery compensation amount is around $200k does not mean that’s more or less what you should, could, or might get.
You’ve seen that disclaimer on every legal website that says “every case is different” or “past results do not guarantee future results.”
There’s a reason for those disclaimers. It’s because the lawyer does not know the facts of your case.
Until a lawyer knows those nuanced facts, she or he can’t ping your case value against any measuring stick of prior shoulder injury and surgery compensation amounts.
Shoulder Surgery Settlements Q&A
How much compensation will I get for rotator cuff surgery?
Using the real life shoulder surgery settlements outlined above in this article, you can get $200,000 or more for a rotator cuff surgery insurance claim.
How much does a shoulder injury cost?
To answer how much a shoulder injury costs, you should re-read the section above which outlines the different types of shoulder injuries and surgeries, because based on that your shoulder injury might cost only $2,000 but it could easily cost over $50,000 if you get post-surgical rehab treatment.
How much is a shoulder worth in a car accident?
Based on the research above, my case which I mentioned, and the other car accident cases summarized in this article, you know that depending on the facts of your case your shoulder injury from a car accident is worth as much as $220,000.
Maximize Your Compensation for a Shoulder Injury Requiring Surgery
To maximize your compensation for any claim that caused you to undergo shoulder surgery, you need:
◊ Imaging films & surgical demonstratives of the shoulder surgery
◊ An orthopedic doctor familiar with shoulder surgeries including shoulder replacements (even if you didn’t get a shoulder replacement surgery)
◊ Strong non-economic damages case development to highlight your specific life changes and losses
Please make sure whomever you hire as your lawyer understands and is capable of fulfilling these requirements.
If the injury was in a nursing home setting, you also need to investigate the failed safety issues that let this happen to you or your family. That’s a complicated conversation that extends too far beyond shoulder surgery compensation amounts to get into in this article.
If you need help, reach out to me via email or using the contact form below. I am here for you.
I wish you a successful settlement for your claim.
Warmly,
Reza Davani, Esq.
State Bar No.: #1212110211
Federal Bar No.: #30168
Cell phone: (301) 922-4598
Email: reza@nursinghometruth.com
Supporting Literature, Citations & Resources:
Oh, C., Jeon, I., Kyung, H., Park, B., Kim, P., & Ihn, J. (2002). The treatment of double disruption of the superior shoulder suspensory complex. International orthopaedics, 26(3), 145-149.
Atoun, E., Bano, A. A., Van Tongel, A., Narvani, A., Sforza, G., & Levy, O. (2014). Acromioclavicular joint acceleration-deceleration injury as a cause of persistent shoulder pain: Outcome after arthroscopic resection. Indian journal of orthopaedics, 48(2), 193-196.
Kaiser, R., & Haninec, P. (2012). The influence of seatbelts on the types of operated brachial plexus lesions caused by car accidents. The Journal of hand surgery, 37(8), 1657-1659.
gis Pailhes, R., Bonnevialle, N., Laffosse, J., Tricoire, J., Cavaignac, E., & Chiron, P. (2013). Floating shoulders: Clinical and radiographic analysis at a mean follow-up of 11 years. International journal of shoulder surgery, 7(2), 59.
Weber, S. C., Abrams, J. S., & Nottage, W. M. (2002). Complications associated with arthroscopic shoulder surgery. Arthroscopy: The Journal of Arthroscopic & Related Surgery, 18(2), 88-95.
Muddu, B. N., Umaar, R., Kim, W. Y., Zenios, M., Brett, I., & Sharma, Y. (2005). Whiplash injury of the shoulder: Is it a distinct clinical entity?. Acta orthopaedica belgica, 71(4), 385.
Pietsch, E. (2019). Shoulder Impingement after Low Velocity Car Accidents-Is there a” Whiplash” for the Shoulder Joint?. EC Orthopaedics, 10, 816-822.
Blumenthal, S., Nadig, M., Gerber, C., & Borgeat, A. (2003). Severe airway obstruction during arthroscopic shoulder surgery. The Journal of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, 99(6), 1455-1456.
Noud, P. H., & Esch, J. (2013). Complications of arthroscopic shoulder surgery. Sports medicine and arthroscopy review, 21(2), 89-96.
Chun, E. H., Lee, G. Y., & Kim, C. H. (2019). Postoperative hypothermia in geriatric patients undergoing arthroscopic shoulder surgery. Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, 14(1), 112-116.
About the Author
This nursing home and medical malpractice article was written by Baltimore, Maryland nursing home attorney Reza Davani, Esquire. Mr. Davani received his Juris Doctor degree from a Tier 1 law school, the University of Maryland Francs King Carey School of Law. He received his first license to practice law from the State of Maryland’s Court of Appeals (MD State License No. 1212110211), and just four months later received a federal law license from the United States District Court for the District of Maryland (Federal License No. 30168).
Mr. Davani has been practicing law for over 10 years. He began practicing law by helping clients as a sanctioned student lawyer before receiving his law license, and second chaired his first jury trial in federal court before even graduating law school. He is a registered member of the Maryland Association for Justice (MAJ), the American Bar Association (ABA), the American Association for Justice (AAJ), and was formerly on the MAJ’s Legislative Leader’s Circle.
Mr. Davani has taken over 20 cases to trial in state and federal court, and favorably settled well over 100 cases for injured victims. He has personally helped his clients recover over $25,000,000 in personal injury, medical malpractice, and nursing home abuse settlements and verdicts in Maryland and other states. He is dedicated to fighting for justice, and welcomes the opportunity to help you.
Personal Injury Lawyer Near You in Maryland & Beyond
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